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07/18/2016 MINUTESMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION MONDAY, July 18, 2016 3:30 P.M. 1. Johnny Norris called the Building and Standards Commission Meeting to order at 3:30 P.M. Roll was called. A. The following members were present: Matthew Allen Sally McEwin Johnny Norris Ben Vaughan Charles Richards Joseph Scott Ken Kohls B. Staff present: Robert Talley Stephanie Harris Larry Wright Debra Burge C. Others present: 2. Approval of minutes from previous meetings. (June 27, 2016) Correct Charles Richards' name on last page under Code Enforcement. Ken Kohls - Item G; when was item brought before commission? And why are we just hearing about it now? Robert — Don't remember date; will look it up. Ben Vaughan recommended approving the minutes, seconded by Ken Kohls. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 3. Public Hearing to consider presentations by City of Paris Code Inspectors and owner(s) and /or lien holder(s) of the below properties who have been given notice of a violation of Article III of Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas, entitled "Substandard and Dangerous Buildings and Structures:" A. 424 Graham; City Block 54, Lot 7 Owner: David Ellis, c/o Jason Allen Ellis, 424 Graham St, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated apartment in back yard is unsecured; open doors, rubbish inside and out, exposed wiring, missing and deteriorated wood. Rotting floors; structure is leaning. Also has foundation damage toward back. Have people squatting in this structure. Have notified PD to issue warnings of criminal trespassing. Originally, owner of this structure tried to pull permits to make repairs. Did not hire licensed electrician, so services were turned off. Owner has said wants nothing more to do with property. Said his nephew, who is incarcerated, can deal with it when he gets out. Fire Dept was called out recently because squatters were removing items from inside and burning them in the yard. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare a public nuisance, demo within 30 days, or City has right to do so. Motion was made by Joseph Scott, seconded by Sally McEwin to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 B. 965 E Polk; Gibbon's Park Addition Block 1, Lot 31 Owner: Roy Kennemer 1200 SE 15th, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated no contact with owners. Appears to be abandoned. Missing and deteriorated wood along roof line in front. Back door unsecure; glass in door broken out. Gap inside at wall and floor joist; joist rotten. Very soft when stepping on floor. Floor also sunk in at front door. Floor separating from wall in more than 1 room. Hole in bathroom floor. Ken Kohls — Does property just go to end of tree in picture? Robert Talley — No; that's a separate structure, they're just close together. Someone else's property. Sally McEwin — Why repair and not demo if no contact with owner? Robert Talley — Don't feel property is in disrepair enough to issue demo order. Have sent notice and want to send repair orders to give owner the opportunity to repair before demo order is issued. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare a public nuisance and secure and repair within 30 days because almost all windows are broken. Ken Kohls — If we don't make contact with owner, what's course of action? Robert Talley — Comes back to BSC. Would have to deteriorate further before I'd be comfortable putting demo orders on. Charles Richards — How long has it been vacant? Robert Talley — Not sure. Letter has been sent for high grass and weeds. Motion was made by Sally McEwin, seconded by Joe Scott to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 C. 1808 Margaret; Anita Park Addition Block 2, Lot 7 & W25' of 8 Owner: Sheryl Larkin Wood, 1721 Stoneway Dr, Grapevine TX 76051 Robert Talley stated have had contact with owner. Asked for 90 days to demo; agrees it needs to be demoed. Owners live in DFW area and asked for most time we could grant; they will try to do most of it themselves. All of roof missing and lats are starting to curl in. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare a nuisance and demo within 90 days, or City has right. Motion was made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Matthew Allen to accept Robert Talley's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 D. 1823 E Cherry; City Block 227 -A, Lot 5 Owner: Donna Humphreys, 1823 E Cherry, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated no contact with owners. Grass has been mowed once. Spoke with neighbors across street, and said no one has been living there for at least a year; occasionally people come over and get things out of the house. Looking in windows, there is a lot of stuff in the house, appears to be memorabilia. Carport is main concern; hole in top. Not asking house be demoed, but carport is collapsing. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare nuisance, demo of carport in 30 days, or City has right to do so. Motion was made by Joseph Scott, seconded by Ben Vaughan to accept Robert Talley's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 6 -1 Sally McEwin — If no one has been there for a year, it obviously is in need of repair. If we're going to spend time and effort to demo carport, it's most likely going to come back for the house needing repair or demo. Robert Talley — Roof covering is starting to wear, but cannot see there's any leaking. Is not in disrepair enough to warrant demo. Have spoken with Fire Marshall regarding clutter inside. Neighbors did not indicate any criminal activity taking place in house. E. 1131 NE 14th; Harlan Heights Addition Block 1, Lot 1 -6 Owner: Neva Newberry, 2450 W Sherman, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated this is a shed inside fenced area. Feel needs to be demoed because unsecure, sinking into ground, holes in roof. No contact with owner. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare public nuisance, demo within 30 days, or City has right to do. Motion was made by Charles Richards, seconded by Sally McEwin to accept Robert Talley's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 4. Code Enforcement update. 7 structures in June that were brought before BSC, 6 demoed. Charles Richards — What is structure still standing at Gene's Flea Market? Robert Talley — Antique store; was not ordered to be demoed. Believe it will be moved. Had no concerns to deem demo. Up to property owners what to do with that building. Sally McEwin — How far behind are we on demos? Robert Talley — Currently have about 12 or 13 with work orders on, 3 other work orders that electricity has not been moved; have contacted Oncor again on those. So 16 -17 with orders, 15 awaiting service removal. 45 -50 total. Sally McEwin — Do any of them need to be moved up? Robert Talley — Not currently. Johnny Norris - Theresa Wright, are we taking care of her? Robert Talley — She has paid Sanitation Solutions 50 %. They're working her in. And Lamar property. Johnny Norris — What about Mr. Cambridge's place on Lamar? Robert Talley — Trying to reach him. Have sent violation notice; started to clean up. Will watch to ensure he continues or will be demoed by City. Ken Kohls —Is' Nat'l Bank Building? Have they started? Robert Talley — Not to my knowledge. Ken Kohls — When is their 90 days up? Robert Talley — End of August. Ken Kohls — What happens on 91 st day? Robert Talley - Will see if any permits have been pulled; if not, will bring back to BSC. Ken Kohls — Does it start all over again? Johnny Norris — Can they ask for an extension? Robert Talley — Yes, it would come back to BSC and they could request an extension. Stephanie Harris — Not sure what the City Attorney's office could do other than Civil Penalties. But before imposing those, he would have the opportunity to have another hearing and request an extension. Joseph Scott - How often can they request an extension? Robert Talley - Up to BSC. State law says owner has 30 days to appeal after final orders are issued. We need to stay consistent with what we've always done. But that's not to say in the future that you can say when the penalties will begin. We sent another letter end of last week that they need to block off the sidewalk or the city will do so and charge owner for fees of barricades. Charles Richards — Do you know if owner and attorneys have been talking? Robert Talley — I know the engineer is no longer working with owner. Came up with a solution to re -route power so wall could be worked on, and owner did not agree with the solution, and stated he wants antenna off the roof. Ken Kohls — Would like a special meeting called on day 91. Stephanie Harris — A notice would have to be posted in the paper 10 days prior. Sally McEwin - Can we get an update at the August meeting on this property? Robert Talley — Yes. Ben Vaughan — The extent of what BSC can do is issue orders and penalties, correct? Robert Talley — Yes. Ken Kohls — I would like to know that procedure. Sally McEwin — It's under Code Enforcement procedures on the City website. Recommend all members print and read. Good information. Sally McEwin — Antique store at Bonham and 2nd smells really bad; is that a public health hazard? Has been closed for some time. Robert Talley — Also owned by Mr. Alarid. Has been inspected; will be addressed. Has permits pulled. Roof collapsed during recent rain/flooding. Fire Dept went through building and it was put on lock down. Building Official reviewed after rain, and they have started repairs on roof. Larry Wright — The current tenant has been locked out by the owner. Ken Kohls — When/how do we know if we put 90 or 30 days on a property, when do we know when that time is up? Robert Talley — Code has an Excel spreadsheet where these dates are tracked. When it comes back to BSC, all attempts by Code have been exhausted. We have to follow what the law allows. It is frustrating sometimes. We're hoping we'll be able to adopt the Property Maintenance Codes which will give us more power to enforce repairs. Will allow us to write citations and take owners to court. Without having the power of those Codes, we have much less authority. Charles Richards — What is the purview of this commission? We can order repairs, demo, and set civil penalties, but whether or not its done is not in our purview? Stephanie Harris — Purview of the BSC is to hear cases and issue orders. Johnny Norris — Item 6. Robert Talley — Want to make ordinance change to bring before BSC items other than structures, such as rubbish. Have a few places we've taken to court, but they're not going to clean up. We would rather run it through BSC for an order to be placed on it. Stephanie Harris — Mechanism to shield the city from liability when taking someone's property. BSC orders once time to appeal has passed have the force of law. If time passes and it's not been appealed and we demo, it protects the city. BSC and Robert would determine which cases are brought before BSC. 5. Discuss and act on information given to the commission. Ken Kohls — Who speaks for Code regarding the annual budget. Be bold; get more money and people. Larry Wright — The budget has been set, but not voted on. Not being increased. Furure agenda items — update on bank building. 6. Adjournment. Motion was made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Joseph Scott to adjourn the meeting at 4:29 pm. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 APPROVED THIS 15th DAY OF AUGUST, 2016. airman